Friday, 7 February 2014

Ibadan… A city regaining lost literary glory

By Anote Ajeluorou

Ibadan is a city built on seven hills and ‘running splash of rust and
gold’. That was Ibadan, a city that so charmed JP Clark that he wrote the most
admired seven-liner lyrical poem ever written on any city. With its two most
famous learning educational institutions – Government College, Ibadan (GCI) and
University College, Ibadan (UCI) – Ibadan proved to be the Oxford and Cambridge
of a country soon to be delivered from the fetters of colonialism to
independence and these two institutions were poised to play a significant part.
And they did admirably.

But there were also other iconic
Government Colleges that would play a part besides GCI. There were the
Government Colleges at Umuahia and Ughelli, which contributed their own quota
of creative human capitals that would converge at UCI at a critical moment to
define a country’s literary destination. Chinua Achebe, Chukwuemeka Ike,
Christopher Okigbo, Elechi Amadi, all from Umuahia; JP Clark came from Ughelli
and Wole Soyinka from Ibadan. Femi Osofisan would later join this creative club
from GCI as well to form the second generation of eminent Nigerian writers.

Right from UCI campus as
students, they started showing their keen mettle, as writers when they
voraciously read every book they came across. Then Mbari Club was formed, as baking ground for the literary dough that
a nation’s creative imagination would later feast on; it turned out an
elaborate feast not unlike the fabled imaginary mould of foofoo in Achebe’s Things
Fall Apart set before in-laws who didn’t see each other until sunset when
the mountainous mould had been considerably reduced. But there’s no exhausting
this feast, as it has bred other bigger feasts for coming generations to
savour.

But gradually and as harsh
economic realities began to dawn on the new nation, the cultural landscape
began to shift. A court case involving members of Mbari Club led to its eventual disintegration, with Clark and
Achebe also moving to Lagos to take up jobs as lecturer and broadcaster
respectively in the mid-1960s. While Ibadan still retained its intellectual
base, as first university city in the country, the real place for artistic and
cultural engagement had changed to Lagos, as both economic and cultural
capitals. The city became merely contented as the intellectual breeding ground,
with other cities also playing similar roles with the establishment of other
universities in the 1970s and then the unbridled floodgate that was to follow
in the preceding decades up till the present.

So, Ibadan lost its pre-eminence
as cultural capital, and the hiatus was to remain so for decades, as the only
significant literary matters came from the now University of Ibadan long after
its pioneering University College era had ceased. Not even its state chapter of
Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) could do much to revive the city’s
flagging fortunes. While other cities bided for and hosted the association’s
yearly convention, Ibadan looked on helplessly, as it couldn’t muster the will
to host, what with successive state governments that remained impervious and
even hostile to artistic and cultural matters.

But the creative Muse was still
latent all the while. The seven hills brooded over its creative fate and bided
its time. It finally announced itself in 2012, when it sprang a surprise with
one of its own on the African continent. Perhaps, as a herald of things to
come, Abimbola Adunni Adelakun had in 2008 brought out her iconic novel on
Ibadan titled, Under the Brown Rusted
Roofs, a novel that captures the mind and soul of a city so thoroughly. Then in 2012, one of its own, Rotimi
Babatunde was declared winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, Africa’s
prestigious short story prize, worth US$10,000. As if not down announcing
itself, it again came out in bold relief, with another Ibadan citizen again
stunned the literary landscape by winning Africa’s biggest literary prize, The
Nigeria Prize for Literature, worth US$100,000!

But how did Ibadan get it wrong?
Where did things begin to fall apart for the culturally vibrant city? And how
can things get back to where they were before? Some eminent literary citizens
of Ibadan lent their voices to the fluctuating cultural fortunes of their
beloved city.

Some of the city’s great writers
have lent their voices to the transformation that has taken place in the
literary life of Ibadan. First is Prof. Femi Osofisan, who, in his University
Lecture delivered in 2005, entitled The
City as Muse: Ibadan and the Efflorescence of Nigerian Literature, sates as
follows, “There are such writers as TM Aluko, Flora Nwapa, Niyi Osundare,
Isidore Okpewho, Kole Omotoso, and Harry Garuba. So what is this other bond
that unites these famous names? The answer, simple enough, is that they are all
graduates of the University of Ibadan!Yes, incredible as it may sound, all these names we have mentioned, as
well as several others in the field of African literature, are our
products—that is, alumni and alumnae who have sat in our classrooms, slept in
our halls of residence, played on our sports fields, or strutted on the boards
of our Arts Theatre! Most in fact began their literary careers right on this
very campus, editing or making contributions to the students’ magazines.

“And then, when we step out beyond the walls
of the campus, and enter into the city itself, we find that the list of
ex-Ibadan residents who have achieved fame as writers and artists lengthens
even more astonishingly, to include names like Cyprian Ekwensi, Amos Tutuola,
the South African Ezekiel Mphalele, the Malawian Felix Mthali, the Englishman
William Boyd, and so on!

“The city of Ibadan, and particularly the
campus of the University of Ibadan, have played a unique role in the history of
Nigerian literature. Here, where we live and work, has been the place where
modern Nigerian literature was born and where, until recently, it was steadily
nurtured and sustained.

“Furthermore, Ibadan as the capital of the
turbulent Western Region, was also a place where politics had a most robust
life, particularly at that period in the country’s history when the struggle
for Independence was at its peak, and later, in the early ‘60s, when the first
governments were trying to find their feet. The games of power played by rival
politicians and political parties with their colourful paraphernalia and
grandiloquent speeches and posturing were more than sufficient fodder for any
literary imagination, and we will soon see the harvest in such works as
Soyinka’s A Dance of the Forests [1963]or
Kongi’s Harvest [1967], or TM Aluko’s Kinsman
and Foreman [1966],or Achebe’s A Man of the People [1966].

“…Thus, in addition to all the previous
factors—i.e. a highly educated community of young men and women, living in an
ambiance of enlightened curiosity, in an ancient and bubbling multi-cultural
city, plus the strong stimulus provided by sympathetic expatriates.It was certainly a period of great
excitement, especially among the educated elite of which the writers were
members, and of an adventurous political drama in which some of them were
direct participants.

“…What
followed, I regret to say, was a complete rout. Abruptly, almost as abruptly as
it had begun, the Mbari club died out; its members dispersed to silence, and
the Black Orpheus after some fitful
gasps for life, subsided into a limbo.The reason for this debacle was, simply, the political disaster that
befell the nation, and the descent to civil war or, if you prefer, the Biafran
war.

“Fortunately,
I do not have to go into any extensive narration before this audience about the
Biafran war. You all remember too well yourselves the causes as well as the
consequences. The politicians, to put it very simply, had simply messed up our
independence with their quarrels and their insatiable avarice”.

For winner of The Nigerian Prize for
Literature 2013, Mr. Ipadeola, “Ibadan is to African literature what Harlem is
to African-American literature. There was the big literary ferment here in the 1960s,
which was never meant to be the constant condition of Nigerian or African
literature - it was for a reason and a season. At the same time it has to be
said that Ibadan was never really 'silent' after the pioneering era of J.P
Clark, Mabel Segun, Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, Elechi Amadi and Chinua
Achebe.

“There was the succeeding wave of Molara
Ogundipe, Niyi Osundare, Femi Osofisan, Harry Garuba, Femi Fatoba and Odia
Ofeimun. Then the succeeding wave of Remi Raji, Chuks Okoye, Afam Akeh,
Amatoritsero Ede, Omowumi Segun, Obododinma Oha and so on. Ibadan is always
bleeding talent into other cities. The city is paying a price for not
consciously regarding her literary heritage. The last great governor to
consciously do something for the city's literary progress was Chief Bola Ige.

“The libraries in the city are appalling at
the moment; there is no major literary festival for the city and there is no
vote for a museum of the city's literary heritage. What the city has going for
it is the sheer weight of literary tradition at the moment. Also a strong
centre of literary gravity where writers and intellectuals like Rotimi
Babatunde, Yomi Ogunsanya, Peter Akinlabi, Benson Eluma, Niran Okewole, Ayodele
Olofintuade, Damilola Ajayi and Biyi Olusolape still meet for discourse.

“For as long as writers still meet in Ibadan,
the city will continue to birth more writers. Again, Ibadan is a state of the
mind. It can be kindled once the mind is attuned to the city's rhythms. I will
rather see the literary productivity of Ibadan as a system of organic, succeeding
waves. Remember that Ibadan is not just the home of writers; it is also the
home of great literary critics. There are few cities here with that kind of
productive tension, which keeps both creatives and critics on their toes.

“So it is just a moment in the continuum.
When Harry Garuba writes a poem or paper in South Africa, it is still the
spirit of Ibadan on display even though it might not be immediately apparent.
You can say the same about Amatoritsero in Canada or Afam Akeh in Britain. That
some chose to stay within Ibadan and to write from there is just a detail. The
city works in manifold ways.

“Fortunately for Ibadan, there is a push
among the city's lovers and elders for a more engaged space for thinking and
writing. There are quiet initiatives from people like Dr. Niran Okewole, Mallam
Femi Taiwo, Dr. Akin Adesokan, Dr. Ebenezar Obadare, Dr. Wale Adebanwi, Dax
Kumapayi, Molara Wood and Prof. Oka Obono and others to lead civic change
within Ibadan in many ways. If only the official culture apparatus within the
city-space can meet these initiatives halfway, the city's literary ambience can
acquire critical mass once again”.

Also for medical doctor and politician, Dr.
Wale Okediran, “Ibadan
fell into literary silence for three main reasons. Since most of the literary
figures in the city where in the academia, there was a big migration in the
late 1970s and the whole of the 1980s of many of these scholars abroad and to
other Nigerian universities. This 'brain drain' though largely for economic
reasons was also for intellectual pursuits as some of these scholars were
poached by other local and international universities to help establish some of
the newer sets of Universities.

“There was a sense of fulfillment among some
of these literary figures who gradually withdrew from artistic and intellectual
activities. In addition, some of the patrons of the art such as the British
Council, the United States Information Service (USIS) and Leventis Foundation
among others, withdrew from Ibadan when these organizations were downsized.
Unfortunately, the political class failed to fill the resultant gap left in the
city, and so, the situation deteriorated.

“Also, the poor state of the economy in the
ancient city, which is largely a Civil Service town did not encourage the
citizens to patronize many of the artistic and intellectual activities in the
city which gradually died a natural death. In addition, many of the publishing
outfits which hitherto had been in the forefront of publishing literary works
decided to concentrate more on the publication of textbooks which is more
commercially viable.

“The reawakening in literary activities which
we are now seeing in recent literary awards is a result of the personal efforts
of the writers in question as well as the various activities put together over
the years by organizations such as the Oyo State Branch of the Association Of
Nigerian Authors (ANA), Educare Trust as well as the Alliance Francoise. Apart
from organizing literary and artistic activities, these bodies are also in the
forefront of organizing literary and artistic competitions among writers and
artists.

In
addition to the above bodies, the Theatre Art Department of the University of
Ibadan is also playing a significant role in the resurgence of literary and
artistic activities in the ancient city.

“To get things going again in the city, the
various bodies enumerated above can sustain their artistic and literary
activities. For example, when between 1994 and 1996 I was the Chairman of the
Oyo State Branch of ANA, ANA tried to revive the literary culture by fixing the
monthly ANA readings in the homes of many prominent personalities in the city
such as Prof. JF Ade Ajayi, the late Chief Bola Ige, Prof. Ayo Banjo, late
Chief Wale Ogunyemi, Mrs. Mabel Segun, Dr. Tony Marinho (EDUCARE TRUST) among
others. This way, we were able to invite a new generation of writers and
artists through these eminent personalities.

“In addition, apart from hosting literary
readings, some of these patrons sponsored literary publications (Chief Bola Ige
sponsored a compilation of writings on Ibadan called, Ibadan Mesiogo while Prof. Ayo Banjo sponsored the publication of a
book of essays and poems on the late Chief Bola Ige and Dr Tony Marinho through
his EDUCARE TRUST hosted many literary activities).

“This tradition of using notable
personalities to sponsor and host literary readings has continued till today by
the Oyo ANA. In addition, the establishment of the Ebedi International Writers
Residency in Iseyin, about an hour away from Ibadan in 2010, is my own humble
contribution to the revival of literary and cultural activities in Oyo State
and Nigeria as a whole.

“It is important for the Oyo State Government
at all tiers, philanthropists, corporate organization as well as publishers in
Oyo State to buy in to this revival of literary and artistic activities in the
state by supporting all the various bodies mentioned above. They can also
assist by organizing literary competitions, book fairs and the like”.

“Even the masters saw it gradually
growing into decay”, so argues Mr. Kolade
Mosuro, owner of Ibadan-based largest bookshop in all of Nigeria. “There was the
government assault, police interventions, disruption of shows, arrests of
artists and the use of thugs to interrupt shows. Following the war, there
was a palpable cleavage. Some of the masters had engaged in the war and it
created a polarity that weakened the artist club.

“The soldiers and the oil boom brought in
money, big money that tainted art. It was now praise-art. It still has
not recovered.

“For the artist, more than most, the night is
truncated from lack of electricity. Creative work is not regulated with
time. The inspiration to write, compose or carve comes at any time. The
nights are out of it with no electricity and the days can be quite as bad.
Security concerns have also curtailed the nights making night shows
unattractive.

“However, Ibadan still remains an artist's
bedrock. The University of Ibadan remains an epicentre for all academic activities
in the country. It must be on account of Ibadan's performance and
follower-ship that they have been able to have three people - Osofisan,
Okediran and Raji preside over the affairs of the Association of Nigerian
Authors within the past 12 years.

“Ibadan has also registered a good complement of publishers than any other city
in the country. Kraftgroits publishers have done very well lately with poetry
and Bookcraft has done well for prose. The Booksellers Ltd has also elevated
bookselling for the good of writers. Ibadan is up and running because the
'grandchildren' of the masters are now driving the arts in the city. These
'grandchildren' are the likes of Ayo Olofintuade (among the best three
shortlisted for Children’s literature category in 2011), Rotimi Babatunde and
Tade Ipadeola.

“Mbari Club was not just book-related. They
had carvers, musicians, actors, playwrights, academics, etc, all gathered under
one roof. It was a great theatre of talents and they were determined
against all odds to enjoy themselves, to bring art to the fore and display art
with professionalism. The result was that revellers and admirers came in
hordes. Art and the love of art grew.

“It
will be good if schools introduced literary hour, at least once a week, in the
schools. Students can be made to just wonder wild and read anything; there
should also be structured reading with the intervention of a teacher or of a
guest author. They must produce plays and watch performances by other
schools and professionals.

“Take my case, I never visited Mbari but
Mbari was brought to us. I saw Duro Ladipo on stage at Government College,
Ibadan. He was fearful and awesome when he made his appearance on the stage.
Through him I recognised the dignity and power of an Oba. Ogunde and his troupe also came to the school. Through him I
learnt political satire. It was through him that I learnt about the bitter
politics of that period. Kola Ogunmola also was on stage with us in school and
I learnt tragio-comedy. Our Arts and Dramatic Society in school was therefore
strong and I am therefore not surprised that it produced Osofisan, Sowande and
Sofoluwe. Soyinka's play, The Strong
Breed was the first Nigerian English play we performed on stage. Such was
the high level production of our plays that the Premier of the Region was
always a guest on our closing night.

“We just have to go back to the schools. To
penetrate the schools, government must be involved. They must recognize and
embrace creativity as well as champion it”.

The Caine-prize winner, Babatunde, submits
thus, “Ibadan remains one of the great literary cities of the
world. Since the mid-20th century, writers based in the city have consistently
made noteworthy contributions to world literature. So those familiar with
literary life in Ibadan would disagree with the claim that the city fell into
silence after the first and second generation of Nigerian writers. The Poetry
Club, whose members included Harry Garuba and the late Sesan Ajayi, played a
prominent role in Nigerian literature in the 1990s. And after the turn of the
millennium, the creative energy is Ibadan is famous for it persisted at other
points where writers congregate in the city for example Tony Marinho’s Educare
and Sola Olorunyomi’s IFAnet.

“Sudden miracles don’t happen in literature.
To illustrate, ‘Bombay’s Republic’, my story that won the Caine Prize, belongs
to a series of historical narratives I began working on over a decade ago.
Along the same line, many writers I know in Ibadan, including The Nigerian
Prize for Literature winner Tade Ipadeola, have been diligently honing their
craft for years. Really, I am only surprised that it took so long for them to
begin winning much-coveted literary prizes.

“And that trend doesn’t look set to change
any time soon, because many of the most exciting creative minds of this age
have Ibadan’s amala and gbegiri coursing through their veins.
These include poets, fiction writers and theatre creatives like Niran Okewole,
Benson Eluma, Jumoke Verissimo, Kunle Okesipe, Ayodele Olofintuade, Ropo Ewenla
and Tosin Gbogi, to mention a few. Even when circumstances compel the physical
absence of a number of them from the city, they continue to remain part of the
Ibadan literary scene. Some of the names I mentioned, as well as many others
that I didn’t, may still be under the radar, relatively speaking. But cream, as
they say, always rises to the top.

“Also, several initiatives, including Laipo
Reads at NSIAC, the Ibadan Book Fair, and Writehouse’s Artmosphere reading
series, have sprung up in recent years. These organisations have been doing a
fantastic job in literary programming. Nevertheless, it is important to note
that from the Mbari Club years of Wole Soyinka, Ulli Beier, Amos Tutuola,
Christopher Okigbo, Duro Ladipo and J. P. Clark to the present day, literary
life in Ibadan has always transcended formal book events.

“The American novelist Ernest Hemingway once
wrote of Paris, another famous literary city: ‘There is never any ending to
Paris.’ Ibadan residents likewise say that ‘Ibadan lo mo, oo mo Laipo.’ Roughly translated, this means: ‘You have
merely encountered Ibadan, you have not yet experienced its essence.’ The
essence of literary life in Ibadan is more to be found in informal gatherings
that hold across the city’s diversity of settings.

“So, you are not only likely to find writers
discussing the virtues of Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo’s new book, We Need New Names, at elite locations
like the University of Ibadan Senior Staff Club, but you are also likely to find
them elucidating on the contrasts between Russian novelists Leo Tolstoy and
Fyodor Dostoevsky at more democratic venues like the ever-lively watering holes
on Mokola Hill. Like Paris, there is also no end to Ibadan!”